


Flufftober Ficlets

by Bohemian (Linguam)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: #SaveShadowhunters, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Flufftober 2018, I think that's fairly self-explanatory, M/M, Oh and Also, See individual chapters for additional tags, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-23 06:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16153475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linguam/pseuds/Bohemian
Summary: Some fluffy Malec one-shots, because that's what we all need.





	1. Breakfast

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't aware of this until earlier this morning (thank you, alistoney!), so as much as I'd love to say that I have 31 fics written to cover every day of the month, I don't. But I got INSPIRED and this happened, so at the very least I have contributed with *one* fic for this flufftober. That being said, I'm limiting myself to 500 words per fic, so hopefully I'll be able to offer a few more before the month's up.
> 
> The prompts I'll be using are the ones proposed by @giucorreias. Now, without further ado!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A vacation.

Alec sits back in the hammock with a contented sigh. The sandy beaches of Guadeloupe stretch out before him, the tiny pebbles sparkling as the morning sun peeks through the slender blades of the palm trees. A fresh breeze ruffles through his sleep-mussed hair, carrying with it the sweetness of tropical fruits and the salty tang of the cerulean waters that is clucking softly against the shoreline no more than a couple of feet from their veranda.

Alec closes his eyes, inhaling deep. Lets the peace and quiet wash over him in gentle waves, erasing the stress of the past couple of weeks.

When familiar footsteps echo over the wooden boards moments later, he cranes his head to the side, making a low, happy sound when he’s treated to a soft kiss.

“Breakfast is ready, my love,” Magnus announces softly, his breath ghosting over Alec’s lips.

Alec hums.

“You’re amazing. Thank you.”

Magnus chuckles warmly.

“You are very welcome, Alexander.”

There’s a gentle flash of blue, and when Alec opens his eyes, the table before them is set with coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, waffles, and an assortment of fruits he’s never seen before.

Magnus takes a seat next to him—too far away for Alec’s liking. Wriggling closer until there is not a sliver of air between them, Alec puts his chin on Magnus’s shoulder, watching lazily as his boyfriend starts serving them.

“I wish you would’ve let me help,” he mumbles.

Magnus waves his hand dismissively, fork glinting as it catches the light.

“Nonsense. Aside from when asleep, this is the first time I’ve seen you still for more than a few minutes in weeks, if not _months._ ” He abandons the cutlery and takes Alec’s hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “You deserve these upcoming days of reprieve, Alexander. Let me take care of you.”

Alec can’t find it in him to argue. It would be pointless, anyway.

His eyes once again wander their picturesque surroundings.

“I think I could stay here with you forever,” he sighs. No doubt life will drag them back with an emergency sooner rather than later, but at the moment, there is absolutely no place he’d rather be, and no one else he’d rather be with.

Magnus hums thoughtfully.

“Forever is a very long time.”

Alec glances up at him. They only got here two days ago, but Magnus has somehow already managed to work up a tan—although the majority of that first day was spent in bed. There is a soft smile in his eyes as he starts piling fruit on their plates onehanded, sunlight casting his skin in streaks of caramel and gold. His hair is product-free, his face bare of makeup, and the only jewelry he has on is the necklace Alec bought him in a giftshop at the foot of La Soufrière yesterday.

He is everything Alec could’ve ever dreamed of and more.

Alec lifts Magnus’s hand and gently brushes his lips against his knuckles.

“Not enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> La Soufrière is an active volcano in Guadeloupe.


	2. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A marriage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you have dental insurance, guys.

“Okay, everyone out,” Catarina chastises jokingly, ushering everyone from the room.

There is a chorus of _you look great_ and _good luck_ and _he won’t know what hit him_ as the door closes on Clary, Izzy, Madzie, and the flurry of the outside world.

Magnus can’t help but smile—but then, he hasn’t been able to stop smiling for weeks now. Not since Alec went down on one knee in a flower-clad meadow just outside of Nagasaki and asked Magnus to marry him.

His fingertips brush against the delicate petals of the gardenia resting against his breast pocket. It’s magically enchanted in swirls of cobalt blue (Magnus’s choice) and striking gold (Alec’s choice), with an earthy green center (because Magnus simply couldn’t resist adding something to remind him of his lover’s eyes).

“And you.” Cat swats at his hands. “Stop fretting. You’ll ruin all of our hard work making you look presentable.”

Magnus snorts, but his smile only grows wider.

Catarina hitches her chin on his shoulder, watching him in the mirror.

“I’m so happy for you, old friend,” she murmurs, tears in her eyes, and Magnus grabs her arms where they encircle his waist, squeezing.

“Thank you, Cat. For everything.”

Catarina just smiles at him, and it seems surreal, how much they’ve been through together, how many experiences they share, only to end up here.

He’s getting married today.

“Come on, then.” Catarina’s eyes are knowing. “Let’s not keep your man waiting.”

The walk passes in a blur of smiling faces and heartfelt well-wishes. Magnus has never been more grateful for Catarina’s steady presence, her firm grip on his arm the only thing keeping him from floating away on the overwhelming joy and nervous excitement singing in his veins.

Then they’re there; then, _finally,_ he sees Alec, and Magnus swears his heart literally skips a beat. He doesn’t think he’s ever really appreciated the phrase _to have butterflies in your stomach_ until this moment, and it’s an overused and somewhat tacky cliché, but that’s what it feels like.

Catarina gently bumps his shoulder.

“Are you ready?”

As if sensing his presence, Alec’s attention snaps to him, eyes immediately finding his from across the room. The smile that overtakes his face is part glee, part pure adoration, and Magnus knows that the warmth flooding his chest will last him a lifetime.

A lifetime with Alec. A lifetime of happiness.

He couldn’t have asked for more.

“I’ve never been more ready.”


	3. Hot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What, I'm not hot enough for you already?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made myself happy writing this. Hope you enjoy, lovelies! <3

“Hey,” Alec says softly as he notices Magnus standing in the doorway. He puts down whatever book he’d been reading, eyes tracking him as Magnus shuffles across the living room. “You’re awake.”

“Arisen from the dead,” Magnus agrees, gracelessly flopping down onto the couch next to him. He tilts his head and Alec immediately takes the hint, leaning in for a tender, lingering kiss that has Magnus sighing happily.

He keeps his eyes closed when Alec withdraws, and then those tantalizing lips brush against his forehead.

“You’re still hot,” Alec mumbles as if to himself, and when Magnus blearily blinks his eyes open, there’s a small frown creasing his love’s brow.

Magnus hums thoughtfully.

“Thirty years of marriage and my husband still thinks I’m hot. I suppose I should count myself lucky that I age so well.”

Alec rolls his eyes.

“You’re ridiculous.” The pads of his fingertips stroke Magnus’s cheek, the touch featherlight. His next words are soft with wonder. “Clearly, _I’m_ the lucky one.”

Magnus clears his throat—and not because of the cough that still plagues him occasionally.

“On that, darling, I believe we will simply have to agree to disagree.”

Alec shakes his head, smiling. But traces of that accursed frown are still there.

“How about I make you some tea?”

“What, I’m not hot enough for you already?”

Alec rolls his eyes again, but his smile does widen.

 _Mission accomplished,_ Magnus thinks victoriously. That frown has been a permanent feature on his husband’s face for the past three days, and he very much wants it gone. Granted, he was the one who put it there in the first place, making a stupid, novice mistake with a potion because he’d been stressed and overtired, and ended up getting himself sick. Nothing but a very persistent cold and it was embarrassing more than anything else, but of course Alec still worried.

“So,” Alec says, eyebrow raised in part seriousness. “Chamomile? Maybe with some honey?”

Magnus smiles softly.

“You do know I could just as easily summon it?”

“I do,” Alec says, rising from his seat. Magnus immediately mourns his absence. “Just as _you_ know that I have no problem doing it for you; in fact, I _want_ to.”

“I know you do,” Magnus says quietly, helplessly, as he watches Alec disappear into the kitchen. Alec keeps showing him, day after day, year after year, how much he wants to, how little he _minds_ taking care of him in the smallest ways: in tight hugs after a frustrating day, in breakfast in bed after a long night: in impromptu gifts delivered with mumbled words and endearing blushes for no other reason than _it made me think of you_ that make Magnus’s heart soar every single time.

Magnus knows, of course he does. He just still has a hard time believing his luck, sometimes.


	4. Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This is a key.”
> 
> Magnus is biting at his lower lip nervously, but there is an almost shy smile playing in his eyes.
> 
> “It is indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Insomnia struck, so I figured I might as well cozy up with some fluff.

Alec had been more than a little bemused when, the moment he entered the loft, Magnus had taken his hand and practically dragged him out for “a walk.” When he’d asked where they were going, Magnus had only offered a secretive smile and asked that he trust him.

Alec didn’t mind, far from it; going places with Magnus was always an adventure, no matter if their destination was a big metropolitan city, the middle of some remote forest, or just around the block. Everywhere they went together they created new memories, and Alec couldn’t think of a better way to spend his time.

This time, it seems they haven’t left New York—that, or Alec doesn’t know his hometown nearly as well as he likes to think—and confusion prickles his mind alongside the mounting anticipation. Judging by the slight spring to Magnus’s step and the way he is pointedly avoiding Alec’s gaze, his fiancé is excited as well as nervous, and that only makes Alec even more intrigued.

They walk through a beautiful park, pebbles crunching gently under their shoes. The path they’re following is lined with an assortment of elegant green ash, fiery red maple, and sweet honey locust. A pond sits at the park center, and Alec spots a family of ducks swimming along before they disappear in the grass.

They exit the park and keep walking for another block before Magnus suddenly stops in front of what appears to be an apartment building and clears his throat.

“I have something for you,” he says, in that soft tone of voice that Alec recognized a long time ago as Magnus throwing himself emotionally headfirst into something without a safety net, and he immediately resolves that whatever this surprise is, he’s going to love it. “Give me your hand.”

The words have barely left Magnus’s mouth before Alec is offering the appendage. Magnus takes it and presses something cold and hard into Alec’s palm before letting go.

Alec stares at the object for a moment before looking up at his fiancé, his brow wrinkling in confusion.

“This is a key.”

Magnus is biting at his lower lip nervously, but there is an almost shy smile playing in his eyes.

“It is indeed.”

Maybe it’s because he just came off a double shift that his mind is so slow putting the pieces together, Alec thinks, internally shaking himself as he looks back at the key. Magnus gave him a key to the loft years ago, so that’s not it, and it’s too big for it to be the safety deposit box he for some reason has on 4th, so then what—

Alec’s eyes widen.

His attention snaps to the apartment building before them, gaze flickering between the dark red brick and his fiancé’s smiling face.

“Magnus…”

“Remember a while back when I asked your opinion in searching for an apartment for a ‘friend?’” Magnus clears his throat sheepishly. “Well, that might not have been strictly true.”

Alec gapes at him. He gazes back at the building.

“Magnus, this is…”

“Please don’t say ‘too much,’” Magnus pleads. “Because there is no such thing, Alexander, not when it comes to our future. We’re starting a new chapter of our life together, and I thought we should have our own place, something that is as much yours as it is mine. I remember you saying that you liked this area, and I do, too, and it’s closer to the Institute than the loft, the park is perfect for your morning runs, Taki’s is literally two blocks away—”

Alec shuts him up with a searing kiss, tries to convey all of the feelings—the rush of happiness and love and excitement—that he can’t find the words for.

“So,” Magnus says when they eventually break apart, breathing a little heavier and with goofy grins on their faces. “I take it you want to see it?”

“I thought you already bought the place?”

Magnus huffs, a tad indignantly, and Alec can’t resist stealing another kiss.

“Alexander, please. I would never actually _buy_ our future home without consulting you first, that would completely defeat the purpose. This is a decision we should take _together._ The key is merely symbolic.”

“Well, in that case,” Alec says, tangling their fingers together, the cold metal of Magnus’s engagement ring pressing reassuringly against his palm. “Lead the way, husband-to-be.”


	5. Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It would come as a surprise to no one that there is no love lost between Alec Lightwood and _words._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some introspection.

It would come as a surprise to no one that there is no love lost between Alec Lightwood and _words._ For the most part of his life, Alec simply hasn’t seen the necessity— _definitely_ not the appeal—of saying with words what one could just as easily communicate with a raised eyebrow or a scowl. His siblings understood him just fine, and since he never really had any friends, talking never seemed to serve much of a purpose.

Orders were different. That’s about efficiency, about clarity before a mission. Diplomacy was the same; then, there is a clear objective. But speaking when there is really nothing to talk about, or saying one thing while really meaning something completely different? Words were complicated and, quite frankly, too much of a hassle.

Then Magnus happened. Magnus with his lilting intonation and sometimes archaic phrasings, who was verbose, eloquent, and used grand, expressive words Alec had only ever seen on withered old pages in the Institute archives. Alec is convinced that he could listen to Magnus recite an instruction manual on vacuum cleaners in Sami and still be completely captivated. Not only that, but Magnus actually seemed interested to hear what _Alec_ had to say. That had never really happened before.

In the early days of their relationship, all that practice _not speaking_ comes to the forefront, and Alec’s tongue stumbles over the simplest phrases. Next to Magnus, who is refined, sophisticated, always so maddeningly collected, Alec is a blushing, blubbering mess. But Magnus never seems to mind, and when Alec is _finally_ able to establish a semi-reliable-though-mostly-transient connection between his brain and his mouth, blurting out stuff like _you’re beautiful_ and _I love you_ and _I don’t think I can live without you_ and countless other little truths that he’s known for weeks if not _months_ before he manages to actually voice them, he never knows who is more surprised: Magnus over the words or him for managing to produce them in the first place.

Alec usually uses touch, or gifts, to communicate his affection; based on how Magnus’s whole body instinctively melts against him, or how he gently cradles every little trinket Alec buys him on a whim as if it’s the entire world, that’s not exactly a problem. But now, Alec suddenly finds himself _wanting_ to speak up. He wants Magnus to really _know_ how breathtaking he is in the mornings, with sunlight kissing his skin and drool trailing down his mouth; he wants to tell him that one smile from him is enough to erase whatever stress or latest catastrophe he’s been dealing with at work: that hearing him laugh or holding his hand or just being in the same room as him is the closest thing Alec will ever come to true bliss. Because Magnus deserves to know.

It’s not elegant, _definitely_ not smooth, but Alec keeps putting in the effort, because it’s worth it seeing Magnus’s face light up and his eyes fill with liquid adoration every time.

Alec never really had a reason to use words before. But now he does.


	6. Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one does gifts quite like Alexander Lightwood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silliness and fluff abound! Beware of cavities.

Magnus is well aware that Alec isn’t a materialistic guy. His love has never understood the appeal of lavish ornaments or extravagant possessions; everything is kept to the bare minimum and anything beyond that is often deemed redundant and met with a scoff and rolling eyes. Magnus knows that.

But he is always plying Magnus with these thoughtful, considerate gifts, and Magnus desperately wants to return the favor. He wants Alec to experience that warm flood of affection, that feeling of the sun residing in your chest; he wants Alec to feel loved and appreciated and like he’s the most important person in Magnus’s world, because he is.

It’s not like Magnus never gives Alec anything: there have been more than a few books, a new quiver for his bow, and _several_ articles of clothing throughout the years. He doesn’t doubt that Alec enjoys his gifts—it’s clear that he does—but it isn’t _enough;_ if Magnus could, he would give Alec the moon, the stars, the sun, the world, entire _galaxies_ and _still_ it wouldn’t be enough. He wants to give Alec _everything._

He’s so submerged in his planning for the latest attempt at “gift giving”—he already has an assortment of cats living on the roof, why not a giraffe?—that he actually jumps when Alec’s voice sounds from the doorway.

“There you are.” He takes a few steps into the apothecary, dressed in his black patrol gear. “I called out twice, but you didn’t answer.”

Magnus worries at his bottom lip.

“What would you say to getting a pet giraffe?”

Alec’s face goes through a series of complicated emotional expressions before it lands somewhere between puzzlement and amusement.

“Is that a trick question?”

Magnus leans back in his chair with a sigh.

He waves a hand noncommittally.

“I don’t know. Forget I said anything. It was stupid anyway,” he adds under his breath, feeling embarrassment flood his cheeks.

A small frown wrinkles Alec’s forehead. He walks up to him and, after a cursory glance at the mostly empty desktop, perches on the table.

“Hey,” he says softly. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”

Magnus sighs again.

“Nothing, I just… You give me all of these wonderful, thoughtful gifts all the time and I just wanted to give you something in return. And you like giraffes, so…”

Alec’s eyes go soft with fondness. He reaches for Magnus’s hands and entwines their fingers.

“I don’t need anything I don’t already have, Magnus.”

“I know you don’t like ‘things,’ but...”

Alec shakes his head.

“That’s not what I mean.” He kisses Magnus’s knuckles. “The universe already gave me the greatest gift I could have ever asked for. It gave me you.”

And there is that feeling again, blooming in his chest and spreading through the rest of his body in currents of heated adoration. Clearly, Magnus will just have to admit defeat.

No one does gifts quite like Alexander Lightwood.


	7. Canon Fix-It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3x06: The Breakfast Scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was HARD, you guys. Every idea I had and everything I started to write inevitably turned into angst. This one isn't *completely* free of that, but it's the fluffiest I could manage.
> 
> And ofc it's the 7th today what are you talking about??
> 
> (Will hopefully have chapter 8 up this evening)

Magnus is prepared for it to be somewhat of a culinary experience, but what he doesn’t anticipate is for it to be a _positive_ one.

He hums appreciatively around a mouthful of soft, yet crispy bread.

“This is delicious,” he says, unable to completely keep the surprise from his voice. “I haven’t been this enamored of French Toast since… well, since Julia Child made me ‘petit dejeuner.’”

“Good.” Alec sits down next to him. He reaches for his coffee. “Maybe you should save the spatula I used for your little box.”

Magnus’s arm freezes midair.

“Alexander…”

Alec sighs. He digs his thumb and forefinger into his eyes.

“No, I’m sorry. That was unfair.” He reaches over and grabs Magnus’s hand where it rests atop the table, giving it an apologetic squeeze. “I’m sorry. I don’t begrudge you for wanting to keep their memory alive, I would never do that. Can we please just forget that I said anything?”

Magnus smiles, relaxing.

“Apology accepted,” he assures. Then he sighs, feeling some of the peaceful morning glow dissipate at what he’s about to say next. “However, as much as I absolutely _loathe_ the idea, it’s something we will need to talk about.”

Tension visibly leeks from Alec’s posture and guilt squeezes Magnus’s heart. Has this really been bothering him that much?

“We’ll talk about it,” he repeats, with more certainty this time. He shrugs, uneasy. “Just, maybe…”

“Maybe not right now,” Alec finishes, a soft, knowing smile on his face. His thumb strokes absently across Magnus’s hand. “Maybe it can wait until after breakfast.”

It’s Magnus’s turn to sag in relief.

“Yes, exactly. I want to be able to properly enjoy this wonderful French Toast.” A teasing smirk pulls at his lips. “After all, I just found out that my boyfriend isn’t as terrible a chef as I was led to believe; there’s only so much you can spring on a guy this early in the morning.”

Alec groans.

“For the last time, it was the _recipe,_ ” he objects, but when Magnus starts laughing he soon joins in, and just like that, the tension that had begun to settle between them like an unwelcome guest dissolves.

Yes, Magnus thinks, smiling helplessly as Alec keeps chuckling to himself, shoulders loose and skin glowing in the soft morning light. They will be all right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They enjoy a tranquil breakfast, full of bantering and feeding each other French Toast and berries, and then they have an adult conversation where no one storms off or tries to downplay/dismiss the other's feelings.


	8. Pets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why is there a _Hellhound puppy_ on our bed?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one definitely could've used more work, but I really just wanted to be back on track with at least one of the challenges, so it is what it is.

“Before you get mad, let me explain,” is the first thing out of Alec’s mouth when they break apart from their hello kiss.

Magnus blinks, eyes narrowing as he takes in Alec’s posture: rolling on the balls of his feet with his hands clasped behind his back and chewing nervously at his bottom lip.

“That sounds ominous,” he says, slowly unwinding his scarf and draping it over a nearby hook. “What did you do? You didn’t try to put my leather vest in the dryer again, did you?”

Alec scoffs, the tension in his shoulders lessening as he rolls his eyes.

“That was one time, Magnus, and all you had to do was magic a new one. Let it go.”

“‘One time’ is one time too many when it comes to Italian leather,” Magnus sniffs. He tilts his head with a frown, part curiosity, part concern. “Did something happen?”

Alec goes back to worrying at his lip.

“Kind of,” he says evasively—which really isn’t helpful at all. He starts moving towards their bedroom and Magnus follows him, still frowning. “I didn’t really know what to do with her, but she was exhausted so I put her in the bedroom and she fell asleep instantly.”

Magnus is growing more confused by the second.

“Who? What are you talking about?” he asks, just as Alec eases open the bedroom door, and his eyes immediately fall on the small, black lump snoring softly on top of the covers.

For a long moment, all Magnus can do is stare, half convinced he’s hallucinating—either that, or his last house call somehow sent him into an alternate universe.

“Alexander,” he begins slowly when he finally finds his voice again. “That’s a Hellhound.”

“A Hellhound puppy,” Alec corrects casually, despite the faint traces of red coloring his cheeks. “Yeah, I know.”

“Why is there a _Hellhound puppy_ on our bed?”

Alec rubs at his neck.

“So, we were on this mission, right? A couple of Shax, the usual. We finished, the others went back to the Institute, and I was just turning to leave when I heard this whimper-growl sound, and there she was, hiding behind a dumpster. She must’ve come through with the Shax demons, somehow. Obviously I couldn’t just leave her there, but she was so cute, and I didn’t know what to do with her, so I… I took her here.” Alec glances at him from beneath his lashes. “You’re not mad, are you?”

Magnus’s head is spinning. Alec, his broody, badass _Shadowhunter_ boyfriend, who _kills demons_ for a living, brought home a Hellhound puppy because he thought she was _cute._

And here Magnus thought it wasn’t possible to fall even more in love.

Alec shifts next to him.

“Magnus?”

“Not mad,” Magnus says distantly. He shakes himself, refocusing. “I’m not mad, darling. Just… surprised, that’s all.”

“Okay,” Alec sighs, his relief evident. “Okay. So, what do we do with her?”

_Says the Shadowhunter, killer of demons._

Magnus tilts his head in thought.

“Since we have no way of knowing where she’s from, sending her back to her mother is not an option,” he muses, frowning. “And putting her up for adoption is obviously not an option…”

“So how about we keep her?”

At first, Magnus thinks his boyfriend must be joking, but one look at him shows that he’s completely serious, and Magnus can only gape at him, mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

“You want to _keep_ her?” he repeats, incredulous.

Alec shrugs.

“Sure, why not?”

And Magnus stands there, rendered mute and rooted to the floor, as his big, bad Nephilim boyfriend carefully sits down on the bed and starts caressing the puppy’s wispy fur with gentle fingers as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, and all of the reasons why this cannot possibly be a good idea evaporate from his mind.

“Yes,” he echoes, shaking his head helplessly. “Why not, indeed.”


	9. Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He gazes back up, his arms full of sleepy warlock, and the sky awash with stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life came, knocked me down, and then when I tried to get back up it proceeded to beat me into a pulp with a sledgehammer. But I'm alive, so at least I get points for resilience, right?
> 
> Now I'm dreadfully, _painfully_ late with all of these, but it is what it is.
> 
>  **Additional tags:** So. Much. Sappiness.

“I must admit, this was a fantastic idea, Alexander,” Magnus sighs, shifting to make himself more comfortable against Alec’s side.

Alec smiles. He is glad he managed to drag Magnus from his busy schedule long enough for them to have some time for themselves. Even though they haven’t even left the loft this time, lying next to each other on the quilt-clad balcony floor, live candles flickering over empty take-out boxes and twin glasses of wine, with the wards dulling most of the city traffic, it’s easy to imagine they could be anywhere.

“All I did was carry up a few blankets and buy us food from that Ethiopian place,” he points out, swirling his thumb absently over Magnus’s knuckles where their entwined hands rest atop his chest.

Magnus hums.

“A moment does not need to be grand to be memorable.”

“True.” Alec tilts his head towards his boyfriend. “Every moment with you is worth remembering.”

Magnus snorts, but Alec can see him trying—and mostly failing—to fight off a smile.

“Sap.”

Alec grins, unashamed.

“You love it.”

Magnus heaves a dramatic sigh.

“Alas, ‘tis true.” He shifts and catches Alec’s eye. “In all seriousness, though, this is exactly what I needed. It’s perfect. Thank you.”

Alec frowns up at the cloak of gray-green exhaust that hides the natural skyline from view.

“Too bad we can’t see the stars for all the pollution, though.”

Magnus is quiet for a moment. Then he starts pushing himself upright.

“Where are you—”

“Close your eyes.”

Maybe there will come a day when Alec doesn’t mindlessly obey Magnus’s every request and demand, but he highly doubts it.

Eyes closed, he listens as Magnus takes a deep breath and then begins to chant. It’s a language Alec isn’t familiar with—as is often the case—but it sounds beautiful, light and lilting, as if the words are plucked from the frail evening wind and reshaped into the sweetest lullaby.

When Magnus finally stops chanting, Alec is almost half-asleep.

“You can open them now.”

Alec blinks the haze from his vision, eyes widening at the display of countless little specks of glimmering lights visible in the far-off distance.

“Wow.” He sits up slowly, awestruck. “Magnus, that’s incredible… how did you…”

He turns towards his boyfriend and trails off, brow creasing into a frown at the way Magnus is blinking languidly, swaying slightly where he’s sitting.

“Magnus—” 

“I’m okay.” Magnus rubs a slightly trembling hand down his face, visibly shaking himself. “Sorry, I’m okay. Just haven’t done that in a while, that’s all. It’s a pretty tiresome spell.”

“Then why did you do it?” Alec admonishes, though he shifts to lay an arm around Magnus’s back in support. “The whole idea with this dinner was for you to _relax._ ”

“You wanted to see the stars, and what my boyfriend wants, he gets,” Magnus intones seriously—although half of the sentence is stolen by a sudden yawn.

Alec rolls his eyes fondly.

“And you call me a sap.” He glances back up at the starlit sky in wonder. “How’d you do it, anyway?”

“Used an old Maori spell to clear the air directly above us from pollution,” Magnus says, a shrug in his voice, as if casting a spell that completely purifies what must be around a _mile_ of air is no big deal. “It will wear off in a few minutes.”

Alec can only shake his head as he slowly brings them both back down into a lying position, Magnus on his side and snuggled into him.

Magnus’s happy sigh soon turns into a groan.

“Damn, I still have work to do but now I really, _really_ want to sleep.”

Alec chuckles.

“You should have thought of that before you went and exhausted yourself for no good reason.”

“For the best reason,” Magnus mumbles, words slurring slightly. He rubs his cheek against Alec’s shoulder, nuzzling closer in a shameless show of affection, and Alec’s heart melts.

Smiling, Alec tightens his hold, chest light with love.

He gazes back up, his arms full of sleepy warlock, and the sky awash with stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Shout-out to chapter 6 Magnus: you're not nearly as bad at gift-giving as you think)


End file.
